Hornets Beware: 7 Biggest busts at pick No. 2 in NBA Draft history

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Derrick Williams, Minnesota Timberwolves. Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images /

Draft Bust No. 3: Marvin Bagley III, 2018

Often a draft bust enters the league and everyone respects them to excel, with that player’s failure a surprise to everyone around them. On this list, that translates to a bunch of players everyone ranked at the top of the draft and those teams seemed smart to take second overall.

Marvin Bagley III represents a different archetype, as numerous voices were decrying the pick as soon as it was made. Bagley was a really good college player at Duke, but the problems with his NBA profile seemed clear: he was a defensive 4 and offensive 5, with a short wingspan that hurt his rim protection and a poor outside shot.

Bagley was certainly still supposed to be really good, but not No. 2 pick good – certainly not in a draft where Luka Doncic went a pick later. In hindsight, it seems inexplicable that the Sacramento Kings could take Bagley over Doncic; the problem is that at the time many were saying that too!

That reality is part of Bagley’s ranking on this list is because the Kings took him second overall despite all of the reasons not to. In his five seasons in the league Bagley has been a reasonably efficient interior scorer, a bad shooter, a terrible passer and a poor defender. That’s a major disappointment from the No. 2 pick.

Just Missed: Obviously, the Kings missed on Luka Doncic, who went third overall. The problem is that they also missed on Jaren Jackson Jr., Trae Young, Wendell Carter Jr., Mikal Bridges, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Michael Porter Jr., Kevin Huerter, Mitchell Robinson, Robert Williams III, Jalen Brunson…

Hornets this Draft: The NBA history books record that the Charlotte Hornets selected Shai-Gilgeous Alexander with the 11th pick; unfortunately for Queen City, they agreed to trade that pick to the LA Clippers for the 12th pick and a pair of seconds. They used the pick on Miles Bridges, a move that seems unfortunate on multiple levels now. They did use a second on Devonte’ Graham, who played well to start his career and earned the Hornets back a first-round pick in trade.